Don't let anyone see your tears but me
by homopallo
Summary: Shishido got into an accident and was rushed to a hospital. Turns out that right before the accident he had confessed to Ohtori who turned him down. Ohtori finds out about the relationship between Shishido and Atobe and starts to rethink his feelings.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Don't let anyone else see your tears but me, part 1  


**Characters/Pairings**: Atobe Keigo/Shishido Ryou, Ohtori Choutarou/Shishido Ryou

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters of The Prince of Tennis but boy, I wish I did. Oh, the gayness.

* * *

Ohtori was out of breath because of all that running, staring blindly in front of him. He just couldn't accept this. He had just gotten a call from Atobe, Shishido was in hospital. Atobe hadn't told any details but he had sounded worried. Ohtori couldn't help but think that this was all his fault, he had turned Shishido down right before the accident. What if Shishido wouldn't make it? What if... What if he'd die because of what Ohtori did? 

Ohtori's heart felt heavy in his chest. How could've he returned Shishido's feelings? His fingers wrapped around the little cross he was always carrying on his neck, it made him feel a lot safer. It was wrong, there was no way two boys could have a romantic relationship. There was something wrong with those boys who did, but Ohtori was sure he wasn't one of them.

He wasn't. He cared about Shishido of course, they were friends and doubles partners after all, but... He could never ever do such a thing, it was against his God's will. And what about his parents? They had often asked him what was going on between the two of them but Ohtori had just said that they were nothing but friends.

Ohtori hurried his steps.

He kept thinking about Shishido and the confession he had made. Ohtori remembered how his voice had been shaking when he let those words come out, I love you. He was sure Shishido had meant it because he never said anything unnecessary and... His senpai would never use those words lightly.

How would it feel like...? To have another guy pressed against your body?

Ohtori had always thought Shishido had such a nice body to be a boy, those beautiful sharp eyes that could fierce anyone, that long flowing dark hair... And not to mention his personality. Shishido might have been a little hard to deal with in the first place and everything but when you get to know him better you realize what a good person he actually is.

Ohtori owed him so much. What would he do if one of the most important people to him would be taken away from him like this? His eyes were filling up with tears, he couldn't control his emotions anymore.

Ohtori closed his eyes, took a deep breath before opening the hospital room's door. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Shishido laying on the bed unconscious and connected to lots of different wires. His face looked terrible because of all those bruises and blood that hadn't been washed off yet.

"Shishido-san," Ohtori whispered and took a step closer. He wiped the biggest blood off of his friends face and sighed. He sat down on the bed, brushing Shishido's hair. No matter how he tried to avoid it, Shishido looked even more beautiful than ever. His body was weak but there was still some strength in it, he was fighting for his life and he wouldn't give up.

Ohtori didn't understand what was going on in his head, but at this moment it wasn't important. He wanted Shishido to wake up, he wanted to hear his voice again. He ran his fingers across Shishido's chest, exploring his defenceless body. Would it really be that bad?

He wrapped his arms around Shishido's body, pressing his face against his chest. Tears fell down on his shirt. It didn't feel bad, to be honest. Ohtori closed his eyes. Had he been deceiving himself all this time? Had he been denying his true feelings for his best friend?

The door opened, making a screaking noice before someone stepped into the room.

"What are you doing, Ohtori?" asked a familiar voice coldly. It couldn't be...? Ohtori rose his flushed face and saw Atobe's eyes staring straight at him, like they could've seen through him. He stood up quickly and bowed, babbling about being sorry and that he'd be leaving now. Atobe rolled his eyes, was this guy an idiot?

He grabbed Ohtori's arm and told him to stop.

"I think there's something you should know," he said. "Shishido happens to be _my_ boyfriend so don't you dare to lay a hand on him, okay? Or else..."

Ohtori couldn't believe his ears. Atobe and... Shishido? But hadn't Shishido just told him he was in love with him and...? What exactly was going on? Ohtori buried his face to his hands and tried to get his thoughts back together. Atobe folded his arms like he was waiting for him to leave and quick.

"A-Atobe-buchou, I think... I think that Shishido-senpai wanted to break up with you. Because... Just a few hours before the accident you told me about, he confessed to me. And I believe him. I... I also love him but I was never able to tell him about it... I... I didn't understand it myself."

Atobe rose his eyebrows and then bursted into laughter. He pointed at the door, waiting Ohtori to disappear from his eyesight. Ohtori lowered his head and dragged his feet to the door. He gave soundlessly sleeping Shishido one more look and then close the door behind him, leaving Atobe alone with him.

Somehow, he felt horrible. He felt like he was betraying himself and Shishido. What if his senpai had just said that as a joke and he had taken it for real? And now he had just made himself the biggest joke of Hyoutei, telling all that to Atobe. Ohtori shook his head, he was sure Shishido had meant it. He had looked so miserable when Ohtori had told him no. Ohtori remembered his eyes tearing up a little and the way he looked at him. How he had ran away after that.

Shishido-san...

He sighed, right now Atobe was probably sweet-talking to him, touching him like Ohtori never would be able to, kissing his amazingly pretty face. Suddenly, Ohtori felt really jealous. He couldn't understand Shishido, why would he go out with a person like their captain, Atobe? Ohtori bit his bottom lip, that cold, arrogant, self-centered, spoiled brat had touched his Shishido-senpai.

It was unbearable. Ohtori hadn't realized it before but come to think of it now, Shishido had been a little weird lately. After the confession Ohtori had of course thought it had something to do with it but now... He understood that Shishido had been struggling with his feelings and Atobe who had probably forced him to stay with him or something like that. It must had been hard on him, especially when you knew what Atobe could be like if he was attached to someone.

At the very same moment, an image of his senpai's crying face floated into his mind. Ohtori opened his eyes, it was wrong. Shishido didn't deserve to be treated like that, he deserved so much better. Just... Just if he could open his eyes, wake up from that dangerous dream.

Maybe Ohtori would then be able to answer his feelings.

To help him... To get away from Atobe.

* * *

**A/N**: Thank you for all the reviews and comments on my previous stories, I really appreciate them. Oh wow, I suck at writing summaries.  



	2. Chapter 2

**Characters/Pairings**: Atobe Keigo/Shishido Ryou, Ohtori Choutarou/Shishido Ryou 

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters of The Prince of Tennis but boy, I wish I did. Oh, the gayness.

Shishido felt like he was trapped inside of his own body. He could hear and feel everything happening around him but he couldn't move a muscle, not even the smallest one. There was absolutely nothing he could do except to lay there, waiting for a miracle that would wake him up.

He remembered how Ohtori's words had pierced his body like a million swords. God, how much had he wanted to just open his eyes and close the silver haired boy in his arms and never let go? For a while he had thought his heart was going to jump off of his chest when Ohtori had declared Atobe that he loved his Shishido-senpai.

He had already given up on all hope when Ohtori had turned him down but after those words the usual will to live had gotten stronger inside of him, he didn't want Ohtori to cry because of him anymore. He had to try harder, he just had to get his eyes open again.

"Nh."

"Ah. Good morning, princess. You look terrible, you know?"

"Wha-- A-Atobe? Where's Choutarou? I thought I heard his voice just a minute ago."

Atobe glared at Shishido and put his magazine away. He turned to Shishido, touched his face gently and then pressed a soft kiss on his forehead. Shishido closed his eyes, this wasn't exactly the sight he had wished for when he'd wake up.

"I sent him away. Now, would you kindly explain to ore-sama what that poor guy was yabbing about this whole love confession thing?" Atobe asked quietly and turned his back for Shishido. Shishido sighed and tried to change his position. It was hard and painful so he finally gave up and opened his mouth.

"Atobe, everything he said was true. Even that part about me breaking up with you."

Atobe stood up, sulking and nibbling his fingernails. He couldn't believe this guy, how could he choose that idiotic oversized puppy over him? He turned around, Shishido could see how he was shuddering. Shishido tried to get up and almost fell down from the bed so Atobe had to help him up.

They didn't speak for a long time, they were just watching at each other. Atobe was breathing heavily, Shishido knew that meant he was trying to overcome this situation in his mind. He softly placed a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder and leaned his head against his chest. Shishido didn't know what it was so charming about him that some part of him didn't want to let go.

"I can't do this anymore, Atobe. After the accident, I don't want to hide my feelings anymore. I... I don't want to be with you anymore, you're only holding me back. I don't like your life style, it's way too posh for me. I'd like you to stop calling me, too."

Atobe denied Shishido's words, he couldn't mean it. He was still weak and a bit high because of the medication or something, there was absolutely no way he could really _dump_ him.

"I'm not saying we can't see each other at school or practice, I just... Gosh, I'm so bad at these things," Shishido kept talking while Atobe was standing next to him, staring blankly at him. Shishido knew this would hurt his pride but it couldn't be helped. Shishido didn't want to be one of his boytoys or whatever they were called, he wanted... No, he needed his Choutarou.

Atobe took a deep breath and turned away.

"I'm sorry... Atobe."

"Fine," he said and walked away. Shishido had a feeling nothing would be the same between them anymore. He sighed and placed his head to the pillow again, all that talking had exhausted him. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. If Ohtori would come to see him again, he wanted his appearance to be better than what it was at the moment. Well, like Ohtori'd actually care about his appearance but it'd also make him feel better.

Ohtori didn't show up. Actually, no one showed up in a while. Shishido waited, he waited for a week. And another, still no one. Atobe had probably told everyone not to see him after the little conversation between the two of them. He understood why everyone else didn't come but... The fact that Choutarou didn't come, it hurt him. It was a lot harder than he had expected it to be.

Had he finally been forgotten by all of his friends? A sigh escaped from his lips and he tilted his head a little to the left. Shishido bit his lip so hard that he could feel the blood flowing to his mouth. Why did love have to be so difficult?

A tear fell down his cheek and he closed his eyes.

"Ah... What am I crying for? I knew this would happen," Shishido tried to convince himself. "His God would never allow him to fall in love with me and... I can't make him choose between us, I'd totally lose."

The door opened. Shishido turned his head to see who it was. He felt like his heart was going to bounce up and out of his throat when he recognized the person to be that cute, sweet little kouhai of his.

"Choutarou..."

Ohtori didn't say anything, he just walked straight to the bed and sat down, caressing the older boy's face. Shishido thought he was going to explode when he felt Ohtori's lips against his own. It was more than he could ever wish for. He didn't know what was going on with Ohtori but it didn't matter, he wrapped his arms around him and answered the kiss with the best he got at the moment.

Both of them knew that there was no going back after this but what would happen afterwards, they didn't have even the slightest clue. Shishido was feeling a little dizzy when Ohtori pulled away from him. Neither of them said a word, they just kept observing each other and trying to figure out what the other one was thinking about.

"I'm glad you came," Shishido said finally, tugging his shirt. Ohtori smiled a little and ran his fingers across Shishido's arm. Shishido didn't know how he should react to this but deep inside, he was happy. Suddenly everything looked so much brighter, he was with Choutarou and if everything went well, then maybe...

He chuckled. Ohtori gave him a quick look and opened his mouth.

"Me too," he whispered and placed a soft kiss on Shishido's forehead. "I've been thinking this whole thing through... And I think that I really do have some feelings for you. Would you give me a chance to find out what they are... Shishido-san?"

Shishido wasn't really able to answer him because... He had passed out just a minute ago. Ohtori smiled and leaned his head against Shishido's unconscious body. How cute, Ohtori thought and let his hand slide over his chest once more.

"When you get home, Shishido-san, I'll take care of you, okay?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Characters/Pairings**: Ohtori Choutarou/Shishido Ryou

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters of The Prince of Tennis but boy, I wish I did. Oh, the gayness.

* * *

Shishido opened his eyes. He felt something big, warm and comforting pressing against his back.

"Ah, you finally woke up?" a familiar voice asked and caused him to jump. He turned his head to see the person who had speaken just now. Ah, that's right. Choutarou had stayed by his side all night. Shishido didn't remember passing out or anything that had happened after that but his body sure did remember.

He cleared his throat and shook his head to clear his thoughts, too. The thought of Choutarou staying over the night had never even passed his mind before. Those gentle but still powerful arms squeezing him so tightly, it was like a dream. Shishido had never been happier than now.

"You... Did you get any sleep?" he asked quietly, forgetting all the pain that trying to move caused. He fixed the younger boy's hair and smiled. Ohtori yawned and scratched his head. Shishido laughed a little, that explained a lot. Choutarou had probably been too worried about him to sleep at all, there were still dark circles under his eyes for the lack of sleep, he thought.

He tried to get up but every muscle in his body was still soring after the surgery. It was too painful to even try and when Ohtori saw his face after all those tries, he couldn't help but feeling sorry for him. Ohtori pulled him gently back onto the bed and stood up himself.

"It's okay, you just stay there, senpai. I'll go get something to eat, okay?"

Shishido smiled to himself. That boy was sometimes too good to be true. When Ohtori tried to leave the room, Shishido grabbed his arm and weakly tried pulling him back. He swallowed and looked straight into Ohtori's big and wet eyes, he wanted to kiss those lips again.

"S-Shishido-san, what are you...? That's... No, that's wrong... We... We can't!"

Shishido was surprised. Just last night his silver-haired little kouhai had been so submissive and _he_ had been the one to make the first move. Ohtori just pushed him away when he tried to get closer. He looked scared, maybe he was just as confused with his feelings as Shishido was.

Ohtori covered his eyes with his hands, he didn't understand. He had been so sure that those feelings inside of him would never grow. And now, here he was, struggling with his own heart. Would he betray his God if he let this get any further? He felt tears falling down his cheeks, leaving tracks.

"It's... No, two guys can't... I can't..."

Ohtori didn't want to hurt Shishido any more, poor boy had been through so much already. He turned his head away, why was this happening to him? He was completely normal, healthy 14-year-old boy and so was his Shishido-senpai. He wiped the tears from his eyes and turned back to Shishido.

"Just... Don't throw me away just like that!" Shishido cried out and buried his head to the pillow. "My feelings for you are real and nothing can change that! If that what happened yesterday didn't matter to you, then why... That's... That's way too cruel, especially from you, Choutarou... I..."

"Shishido-san, it's not normal... I can't... My parents..."

"For Christ's sake, Choutarou! Is this about what your parents may think? Or is it about yourself? Or that stupid God of yours? Which is it?"

Ohtori couldn't say anything, his crying had gotten out of control and he pounced on Shishido, hugging him so tightly that it was almost impossible for him to breath.

They kept holding each other for a long time and eventually both of them calmed a little.

Shishido wiped Ohtori's tears away with his hand and tried to smile. He felt like he was being unfair, Ohtori had his religion and it said that it was wrong. There was no way he could compete against something like that, and that was the most hurtful part of this. He wanted to be Ohtori's number one. He wanted to be the only one to comfort him when he was having a hard time, he wanted to have Choutarou all to himself.

"I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," he mumbled and caressed the younger boy's hair.

"No, it's okay, Shishido-san... You're right. I'm afraid of what my parents would say if they found out about this... But even more than that, I'm afraid of what will happen to me if I let this continue," Ohtori said quietly. He didn't know what to do and it scared him.

Shishido closed his eyes. They were in a tough situation and they were in it together. He couldn't force Ohtori to anything he didn't want but he'd be more hurt if Ohtori turned him down because of his religion than he'd be if he'd get rejected because of his personality or so. Everything would've been so much easier if Choutarou just would give up on his God.

Ohtori sighed, it was time for him to leave. After all, he had been away from home for all night. His parents were probably freaking out already. He let his eyes wander around the room and when his eyesight fixed on Shishido, he had to close his eyes so that he wouldn't do anything he'd regret afterwards.

Shishido turned his head away, this was way too awkward. He had no idea what Ohtori was thinking about, he had no idea what was going to happen now. At some point, he wished that Ohtori would just tell his parents about them and that would be it. But then again, they would most probably kick him out and that wasn't what Shishido wanted. And while he was in the hospital himself, there was nothing he could do about it.

Ohtori closed the door behind him. Shishido shook his head, he couldn't have possibly thought about that right now. He felt like he was going crazy, like everything had become one huge mess.

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

**Title**:Don't let anyone else see your tears but me 04

**Characters/Pairings**: Ohtori Choutarou/Shishido Ryou

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters of The Prince of Tennis but boy, I wish I did. Oh, the gayness.

* * *

Days of waiting turned into weeks. Shishido was getting more and more frustrated, it wasn't fair. He needed to get out, he needed to get practise. His tennis skills; his power, his movements, everything was fading. He needed to get out of the hospital as soon as possible or else he'd be out of the team. And this time, it would be permanent.

Shishido covered his face with a pillow. He took a deep breath, tilted his head backwards and threw the pillow towards the wall. He let his eyes follow the pillow as it met the wall and then fell to the floor again.

"There's absolutely nothing to do here," Shishido mumbled and sighed. He didn't even notice it himself, but his thoughts were suddenly filled with Ohtori and his gentle smile, his silvery soft hair. Shishido was scared, what if his words had really hurt Ohtori that deeply that he'd never come back? Right at the moment, there was no one else Shishido would've wanted to see and talk with this badly.

He closed his eyes, a lonely tear rolled down his cheek. What could he do? Was there anything he could do about the awkward silence between the two of them if Ohtori ever showed up? More and Imore tears rolled down his face. He tried to stop them but it was useless.

"Damn it... Falling in love... Is so... lame."

The door opened slowly. Shishido turned his head to see who it was, he felt like his heart was going crazy once again. He noticed that he kept repeating '_please be Choutarou, please be Choutarou _' in his mind. He closed his eyes, bit his bottom lip and swallowed the tears back. Whoever it was, he didn't want to let anyone see him crying like a girl like this. So embarassing.

"Shishido-san, are you awake?"

Shishido felt like a hammer had just fallen to his head. He felt like his tongue was glued to his throat, he just couldn't make any words come out. So lame, he kept telling himself, why was his body reacting like this every single time he was with Ohtori?

He couldn't understand it. He could hear Ohtori's steps coming closer and closer and then, a hand brushing his hair tenderly. He opened his eyes.

"Choutarou," he whispered. Ohtori smiled and took Shishido's hand to his own. For a moment, neither of them said anything, they just looked at each other. Both of them looked frightened, Shishido was sure something had happened but he couldn't make himself ask.

"Help me out of here," he said instead of that, his voice sounded weak. "Please."

Ohtori's eyes changed, now they were filled with pure surprisement. Shishido cleared his throat and tried to get his voice a little louder. He was desperate, he couldn't take this anymore. He poured everything on Ohtori, he wanted him to understand these mixed feelings flowing inside of him. Ohtori didn't say anything, he wrapped his arms tightly around Shishido and let him cry against his chest.

He didn't want Shishido to cry, it made his heart tremble. He caressed Shishido's spiked hair and placed a gentle little kiss on his forehead. He wanted to tell him that everything was going to be okay, that it was only a matter of days when he'd get back home... But he couldn't.

"Shh, it's okay... I'll get you out of here, I promise," was all he wanted to tell him at the moment. He just didn't know how he could do that, Shishido's body was still weak and Ohtori didn't know if he could walk long distances or anything. The hospital was strictly secured so he couldn't just smuggle Shishido out. But what if he offered himself to take him for his daily walk...?

Shishido couldn't make himself even think about what was going on in Ohtori's head but he knew that something was up. He let his fingers slide through the younger boy's hair and looked into his eyes.

"Shishido-san," Ohtori said quietly. "I'm going to get you out of here if that's what you want. I promise."

The sun was shining and there were absolutely no clouds in the sky. Ohtori and Shishido had talked about almost everything during their time together in the park that was situated near the hospital. When they finally got closer to the gate that closed them from the other world, Shishido started having second thoughts. What if they'd get caught? What if he wouldn't be able to live normally anymore? He knew his legs weren't as strong as before and that he wasn't as confident as he used to be. He felt weird.

"Okay, Shishido-san... Here we go, then," Ohtori said pushing Shishido's empty wheel chair and rotated his head to see his senpai better. "Are you ready?"

Shishido tried to hurry his steps to stay by Ohtori's side and to get used to walking again. He smiled, took Ohtori's hand and took a deep breath before nodding. "I feel so relieved now that I know you're not mad at me for what I said earlier."

Ohtori smiled and tightened the grip of their hands. "I... I love you, Shishido-san."

Shishido stopped and closed his eyes. His heart was beating faster and faster, he had finally achieved his goal. For how long had he loved Ohtori without being loved back? For how long had he been keeping these feeling inside of him? And now...

He had never felt like this before, it was almost like his body was on fire. Those sweet and not dangerous flames burning him like never before. He smiled and took a deep breath.

"Okay, let's go!" he said and pulled Ohtori along with him.

And they ran. They ran as far as they could before Shishido's legs started giving in. Ohtori noticed how his speed kept running lower and lower but he didn't say anything in a while so that he wouldn't underestimate his senpai.

"Shishido-senpai, you still haven't fully recovered... You really shouldn't push yourself too hard," he said after some time, tugging Shishido's sleeve.

"What are you? My mother?" Shishido asked in a mocking shade of voice but then he stumbled to a small stone on the ground and Ohtori pulled him back to his feet.

"See what I mean?" he said and gave out a dazzling smile. A releasing laughter broke between the two of them and suddenly they felt like there was nothing to be afraid of anymore. They were together, after all.

Everything would be okay.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title**:Don't let anyone else see your tears but me 05

**Characters/Pairings**: Ohtori Choutarou/Shishido Ryou

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters of The Prince of Tennis but boy, I wish I did. Oh, the gayness.

**A/N**: Thank you for your comments, please keep them coming! I'm terribly sorry about this looooong gap between updates ;w; I've been really busy with school and everything, not to mention this huge writer's block. To be honest, I haven't gotten anything proper written in like... two months or so. Please bear with me in this, I'm trying really hard to get the story back on its trails.

* * *

"Shishido-san," Ohtori said in a tender voice, brushing his sleeping senpai's hair. "Hey, wake up, sleepyhead. We should get going, it's almost evening."

Shishido rubbed his eyes and tried rising his head a little. "Nh..."

Ohtori smiled and placed a small kiss on Shishido's forehead. Really, this had to be Shishido at his cutest, Ohtori thought to himself and let his fingers play with Shishido's hair a little more. Just seeing Shishido so weak and vulnerable like this made him feel bad and to be honest, he kind of hoped that none of this had happened.

"Choutarou."

Ohtori snapped out of his thoughts. Shishido sighed and shook his head to get a hold of himself again. He was clearly struggling with his limbs, it seemed that he was almost unable to move because of all that hurting in his muscles.

"Shishido-san, are you okay?" Ohtori asked a little worried. Shishido moped, still desperately trying to get on his feet but without any result, and then gave up. Ohtori layed his eyes to the ground and then clutched tightly to Shishido.

"Everyone's afraid of being hurt," he said, "you shouldn't be pushing yourself like that."

"There it is, you're doing it again."

"Doing what?" Ohtori asked in pure surprisement.

"You're being way too overprotective, Choutarou. You're not my mother, so just give it up."

"But I'm your boyfriend, right? Don't you think that gives me every right to be worried about you and want you to get better as soon as possible?"

Shishido didn't know what to say. Atobe had never said anything like that. And now that he thought about it, he had never even seen a single clue that could be interpreted as worry in Atobe's eyes. Not a single time, and they had been together for at least two years.

Ohtori smiled and pat his senpai's head, "It's okay, you don't have to say anything."

Everything was so different. Shishido was completely bewildered, he didn't know what he should do in a situation like this at all. It was like a whole new world to him, lots of things to discover, lots of things to learn.

"So... What are we going to do now, Shishido-senpai?" Ohtori asked quietly, breaking the silence and leaned against Shishido's shoulder.

"I don't know," Shishido answered eyes closed. "I really... don't know."

It was only a matter of time when they'd be found out. The hospital was indeed quite small and there was absolutely no way that no one had seen them. Shishido kept squeezing Ohtori's hand tighter and tighter as they tried to move on.

Shishido felt useless, he felt like he was only dragging the two of them down, that he was nothing but a burden to Ohtori. Time after time they had to stop, because of him, and it frustrated him to the very end. Ohtori wouldn't say anything, of course, but Shishido knew his injury was weighing on his mind, too.

Where could they go? They couldn't go home since the hospital had without a doubt informed their parents about the incident. They couldn't go to school either since Atobe was there and one could never know what he'd do if they suddenly appeared there. Was there anyone who would take them in or were they destined to travel around without home, food or money - without anything?

"Shishido-san, what are you thinking?"

"Huh? Ah, nothing..."

Ohtori snickered to himself, making Shishido even more unsure about himself. As expected, Shishido wouldn't just tell him if something was bothering him. He wouldn't force Shishido, he'd let him slowly open up by himself. He wanted to know everything that was hidden behind that guard.

It was going to take some time but he was willing to wait. To him, it didn't matter how long it would take. He was ready to wait. He wanted to wait.

"What are you smiling about?" Shishido asked, clearly a little irritated and scratched his head. "You're imagining something weird again, aren't you?"

"Hm... No, not really," Ohtori chuckled, letting his eyes wander around the landscape. "Ah, where are we? I've never been here before."

"I used to come here often when I was a kid," Shishido said. "It's really peaceful here, isn't it?"

Ohtori nodded and put his arms around Shishido's waist. It was a beautiful day in mid-autumn, the wind was blowing softly against his face. Leaves in those amazingly high trees, different shades of red and yellow, that little brook... All those things made the view even more beautiful. Shishido whimpered a little and his left leg, which had been cramping just a while ago, gave out.

Luckily, Ohtori got a good hold of him right in time. Their eyes met for only a mere second but Shishido could feel his face flushing red as a tomato as Ohtori's fingers accidentally touched his chest. Neither of them said anything until Shishido managed to get back on his feet.

"Uh... The grass seems to be kind of slippery, don't you think?" he asked, like trying to cover up the fall. Ohtori had a hard time trying to hold back but in the end he only bursted into laughter and hugged his senpai again, placing a soft kiss on his hair.

Ohtori already knew that Shishido wasn't extremely good with showing his feelings to anyone, so maybe he was secretly happy about this. That's what he wanted to believe, at least. He let his eyes study Shishido's body movements, dear God that boy looked good. That soft, flowing dark-brown hair, those sharp eyes... Not to mention that small and slim body build of his.

Ohtori closed his eyes and wrapped his fingers around the cross on his neck.

"Thank you, God. I don't know how you did this but... Thank you _so_ much."


	6. Chapter 6

**Title**:Don't let anyone else see your tears but me 06

**Characters/Pairings**: Ohtori Choutarou/Shishido Ryou

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the characters of The Prince of Tennis but boy, I wish I did. Oh, the gayness.

* * *

Before they even noticed, it was night already. Shishido opened his eyes a little and yawned. They had fallen asleep, who knows for how long? The sky was full of stars and it was a little chilly out there. He wiped the drool off of his mouth and cleared his throat. Really, at his oh so mature age. 

Where was he? Oh, that's right. He had completely forgotten about the situation he and Ohtori were in. Speaking of the devil, where on earth was Ohtori? Shishido couldn't see the other boy in the dark and he was practically freaking out because of it. Was he an idiot or what, how could he just disappear at a time like this? Shishido felt like he could beat Ohtori as soon as he'd find him.

"Nh... Shishido-san, what is it? You can't sleep?"

Shishido startled as he felt Ohtori's hand climbing up his thigh.

"Oww!" Ohtori bounced up when Shishido slapped him as hard as he could. "What did I do _now_?"

"You idiot!"

Ohtori rubbed his cheek which was still all red after the hit. He couldn't understand why Shishido had hitten him that hard, he didn't remember doing anything 'weird' either. He pouted a little and then grabbed Shishido's hand, pulling him closer.

Shishido turned his face away, he didn't exactly want to look Ohtori in the eyes right after hitting him. Things had just gotten a little out of hand, and the next thing he knew was his hand moving on its own. Ohtori had to be one of the calmest people he had ever met, anyone else would've started yelling back at him and not just hold his hand like that and stuff.

Shishido was confused. This sure was different from his previous relationships.

"I... I'm sorry," he whispered and let his hand fall down. "Please forgive me."

Ohtori smiled. "It's okay," he said and let go of Shishido's hand. Shishido sighed and sat down next to him. He closed his eyes as Ohtori's right index finger poked him on the cheek. A short while later, he felt those sweet lips on his face. First on his forehead, then slowly moving lower until they reached his own lips.

A little clumsily, their teeth kept clattering together once in a while and creating a small awkward moment, Ohtori pulled Shishido to his lap. Shishido tried to resist when he realized that Ohtori's hands kept moving up and down his back and slowly finding their way underneath his shirt, but in the end he found himself actually enjoying it. He didn't even notice it himself at first but he started clinging to Ohtori tighter and tighter.

"Really, you're too cute for words," Ohtori said and fixed the other boy's hair. "Shishido-san..."

Shishido snorted.

"Really... How many times do I have to tell you? You can call me by my first name when we're alone, Choutarou. I mean, weare...Lovers, right?"

"But, Shishido-senp-- Uh... Ryou..."

"Good boy," Shishido said smiling and scratched Ohtori carefully behind the ears. Really, this guy was more like a puppy dog than a real person, he thought to himself and pressed his head carefully against Ohtori's shoulder. He closed his eyes and tried to think.

"Choutarou," he called out. Ohtori nodded. "This is not going to work. Honestly, we can't stay here forever. We need food, and money and... Stuff. And --"

"Let's think about it tomorrow, eh? You're still exhausted from all the walking and everything. Why did we ever abandon that wheel chair anyway? I could have pushed you, and then we --"

"Choutarou!" Shishido almost screamed and covered his face. "Would you _please_ shut the hell up for just a second? We... We can't go to school, we can't go home, we can't... Ah, hell! What are we going to do for real?"

Ohtori sighed and let his fingers slide through Shishido's hair. Shishido slowly removed his hands from his face and found himself staring into Ohtori's big, wet eyes. Suddenly this didn't feel that good of an idea anymore. He had just dragged Ohtori into big trouble with him.

Shishido felt like he could really have broken into tears at the moment if had been alone. He was only 15 for God's sakes, what on earth had given him an idea to just escape from a hospital like that? Of course it hadn't been that wonderful to just lay on a bed without having anything to do but at least it was warm and safe there.

And then there was Ohtori. Shishido was a whole year older than him so he felt it was his responsibility to look after him. So what if something happened to him but what about Ohtori?

Shishido felt like his head was about to split open. He kept calling himself an idiot in his mind and started hammering his head with a stick that his hand happened to find from the ground.

"Ah! Shishido-san, Shishido-san, stop it! I bet that's not good for you!"

Meanwhile, at the Hyoutei tennis courts, Oshitari and the joyful redhead Mukahi were having a chat with Jiroh who was awake for a change. No one had heard anything from Shishido in a while so they were planning on going to the hospital with the whole tennis team. Strangely, no one had seen Ohtori in a while and no one could get any contact to him. Atobe hadn't taken any trouble to help them so they had to do it by themselves.

"Yuushi, we should take him a present or something, right? He likes... Uh, sandwiches, I think?"

"No, Gakuto, we're not going to give him sandwiches or anything," Oshitari replied and fixed his glasses. "We should be more creative, you know... Like a massive tennis ball-like cheese thingie or something!"

Jiroh rose his left eyebrow. No wonder those two were playing doubles, their sense of things like these were completely similar and to be honest, pretty bad. Not even Shishido would like to have a gigantic eatable tennis ball as a present. Oh man, this was boring.

Since Oshitari and Mukahi's, um, creative conversation wasn't getting anywhere so Jiroh decided to rest his eyes just for a few minutes. Like those two would get anything decided, they'd just end up sweet talking to each other and... Yeah.

They didn't get any mind blowing ideas as expected but Jiroh's nap got a quick end when Atobe approached them with a tense look on his face and accidentally stepped on his hand. He gave Oshitari and Mukahi a significant look and both of them became quiet in an instant. Even Oshitari, since Atobe's face gave out that he indeed was troubled.

" I just got a call from the hospital," he said in a serious voice. "I thought you might be interested, Shishido's gone missing."


End file.
